"Link gave me his number", Jan told Peter as they cycled through the Fairview district.

"You've got a high school boy interested in you!" Peter grinned. "Are you going to call him?"

"I don't know, Pete", Jan replied. "Mom and Dad probably wouldn't like me seeing a boy who cuts class to go up on the school roof. But I'll tell you what I want to do now."

"What's that?" asked Peter. "I want to phone Mr. Haskell and check that he's still on board with the cheerleader promotion", she told him. She cycled over to a phone booth, and Peter followed.

As Peter kept guard over both their bikes, Jan dialled the ice cream parlor's number. "Hi, Mr. Haskell", she said. "Is everything ready for the cheerleaders?"

"I've come up with a dessert for them", Mr. Haskell told her. "But it'll have to be all hands to the pump. There was one heck of a rush last time we did a free dessert promotion, and on top of that, the store room needs cleaning."

"Shall I get Marcia to come in?" asked Jan. Although Marcia had stopped working regularly at the ice cream parlor, it had been agreed that she could help out when things got extra busy. "Please do", replied Mr. Haskell. "Heck, you can even get that brother of yours to come in if he wants."

"I'll tell them both", Jan promised. "See you later, Mr. Haskell!" She put the phone down and hurried out of the booth to join Peter.

"Mr. Haskell's going to need extra help this afternoon", she told him as she climbed back onto her bike. "So you and Marcia will have to come in."

"Well, I could sure use the money", Peter replied. He had had a poor run of after school jobs – either he spent too long on one task or he ended up goofing off. "And I only have to hold it together for one afternoon."

Jan looked at her watch. "It's about time for lunch over at Westdale", she said. "They'll be waiting for us."

Peter and Jan had arranged to meet Greg and Marcia in a quiet spot on the edge of the Westdale grounds, so this time there was no need for the middle Bradys to sneak around campus. There were hugs all round as the four siblings met each other.

"So, have you been having fun playing hooky, kids?" giggled Marcia. "Jan got a Fairview boy's number", Peter told them with a grin. Jan told them about how they'd met Link, and how he'd helped them with pinning up the signs. "I wouldn't say he was your average Fairview boy, though", she ended.

"It sounds to me as if you really like him", said Greg mischievously. "Anyway, nothing out of the ordinary's been happening over here."

"Our brother's still reigning supreme as football hero", Marcia smiled.

"And if anyone other than Vicki's heard about Mary Jane, then they're being pretty quiet about it", continued Greg. "I've not seen Vicki but I know she isn't a loud mouth", observed Marcia. "So we'll just have to see how things work out at the ice cream parlor."

"You, me and Peter are working there this afternoon", explained Jan. "Mr. Haskell says it's all hands to the pump."

"All hands to the pump it is, then", said Marcia. "How are you two going to lay low before then?"

Peter and Jan looked at each other. They hadn't thought about how they'd spend the time when they would normally have afternoon lessons. "We'll think of something", Jan replied.

"Listen", said Greg. "I really appreciate what you two are doing for me, and I hope that it'll lead to us being a family again."

"Hey, you're our brother - would we let you down?" demanded Peter. He and Jan got on their bikes and told Greg and Marcia goodbye before cycling away from Westdale.

"I think I know where we could go next", said Jan. "We could go to that art museum Mom and Dad used to take us to when we were younger."

"It'd be better than hanging around the mall", Peter agreed. "And it's only Tuesday, so there won't be that many people there."

The museum was pretty much how Peter and Jan remembered it. Amiable middle-aged men in uniform, wooden parquet flooring, the smell of polish. As they'd suspected, it was pretty quiet. Jan wanted to look at the museum's primitive paintings. There was one in particular which she pointed out to Peter. "Right before we became a family, that used to be my, Marcia and Cindy's favorite painting", she told him. It was a 19th Century portrait of a boy with sandy hair and a blue suit. "We used to wish that boy could come home with us and be our adopted brother", she continued. "But after we'd gotten used to being Bradys, we were glad that you boys were our brothers instead." Peter looked at her and smiled. "And I'm glad that you three girls are my sisters", he replied.